I am “up to Camp”, as one says in New England-ish, this weekend. So I am packing up Ludwig (yes, my car is named Ludwig van Volkswagon) and headed north from the steamy city. New England, after our brutal winter, skipped spring altogether and it’s been summertime hot for the good part of a week. No complaints, though I do have to put in my air conditioners soon, lest I have to stop baking in the heat. And never one to arrive empty handed, here is the pie I made.
This pie title and idea with the “stars” is based on a pie that I saw somewhere on the intertubes called Midnight in Paris Pie. Of course, they don’t really have pies in French desserts (tarts, yes … pies, not so much) and it was just someone using the cut out stars to decorate a “plain” blueberry pie. I went for the berry combo to make it a little “darker” and then added the mint. You don’t actually taste the mint too much but it does have a nice freshening effect.
I officially declare it summer then, eh? [grin]
Ingredients
for the pastry
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
for the filling
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 egg, whisked with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball, divide, then flatten into two disks. Wrap in plastic; chill 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with baking spray.
Place blueberries and blackberries in a medium work bowl. Sprinkle in corn starch, sugar, gelatin, salt, mint and nutmeg and toss to combine. Set aside.
Roll out one of the dough disks to a 11 inch circle. Place in pie plate and crimp edges. Dock the pastry with a fork a few times, all the way to the edges. Spoon berry mixture onto the pie plate. Roll out the other dough disk to approximately 1/4 inch thick and using a star (or in my case a star-like flower) cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Brush with egg wash and “sprinkle” over the berries. These are, of course, supposed to be indicative of a clear starry night. Place pie on a baking sheet (in case it boils over) and place on the center rack in the oven.
Bake until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden, 55 minutes to an hour. If the top gets too brown before the hour, cover with aluminum foil. Cool slightly on baking sheet on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
